A. Field of Invention
This invention relates to the art of methods and apparatus for support rods that support equipment during use and more specifically to methods and apparatus for support rods that support weapons such as firearms and crossbows.
B. Description of the Related Art
It is known in the art to provide various types of supports for firearms and crossbows. In general these supports are used to relieve the user from having to hold up the entire load of the weapon. Such supports are especially useful when the user needs to maintain the weapon in a “ready to shoot” position while waiting for game. Monopod, bipod and tripod designs are all known and used. While such known weapon supports may work well for their intended purpose, they have limitations and thus improvements would be well received by hunters and others who use weapons.
One desirable improvement would be a weapon support that can be used both to support the weapon against a user's body and against a tree stand or other such ground surface. Another desirable improvement would be a weapon support that can be held by the user for shooting the weapon while the support is in a stowed position. Still another desirable improvement would be a weapon support that can easily be adjusted to support the weapon at different locations and/or with different support components.
Examples of known weapon supports are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 5,194,678 (a support that attaches to the sling swivel of a rifle), U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,147 (a support head for a rifle monopod support), U.S. Pat. No. 5,903,995 (a monopod that permits a rifle to swivel), U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,466 (a rifle support that can be supported on the user's body), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,843,015 (a bipod that supports a rifle). None of these devices, however, provide the improvements noted above and discussed further below.